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'The Flash' #750: Wally West finally realizes that DC's 'New 52' timeline makes no sense at all

The New 52 was a mess of continuity whose biggest changes have mostly been swept under the rug until now

Spoiler alert for 'The Flash' #750

When DC relaunched their entire comic line for 'The New 52,' cutting down decades of DC history to try and make things more accessible for new readers, the result was a bit of a miss. DC tried to have its cake and eat it too, promising a new timeline that was starting fresh while still keeping a tenuous link to its most iconic stories. New origins were given to superheroes and teams despite all of it directly conflicting with earlier stories that DC was still ostensibly considering canon. 

While 'Rebirth' attempted to fix some of the tonal mistakes of 'The New 52,' it didn't do a lot to explain the inconsistencies in the new continuity. It simply went on to tell new stories, in the hopes that the erroneous canon would be swept under the rug, as is commonplace in comics tradition.

With the announcement that Wally West would be using his new godlike powers to fix the timeline, it seems that DC is acknowledging its mistakes as far as continuity goes, and is attempting to fix them. In 'The Flash' #750, this is made canon.

While the heroes of Earth have learned to live with their conflicting memories, Wally West's connection to the Mobius Chair, in addition to Doctor Manhattan's powers, allows him to see the timeline more clearly. He realizes for the first time that none of it makes sense, and he points out specific breaks in the incongruities such as the Teen Titans classic time being formed for the first time, despite the formation of another Teen Titans team forming in the New 52, ALSO for the first time. Wally West remembers both his pre-Flashpoint and his New 52 origin, both timelines have been roughly considered canon, but neither of them works if you look at them too closely, which Wally is now doing, and he comes to a simple realization.

Much like 'Rebirth,' DC is using Wally West to acknowledge just how much of a mistake the New 52 was, and how much of it just doesn't work. It's especially interesting that Wally West notices the discrepancy with the Teen Titans' origins, as he was responsible for the radical new origin for the New 52's 'Teen Titans' series, all of which introduced some major changes that have now nearly all been undone.

With the powers of a god, the Mobius Chair, and the Speed Force all under his control, however, Wally West knows exactly what he's going to do with this ruptured timeline. He's going to fix it — and he may be the best person in the entire DC Metaverse to be able to do so.

This story continues in 'Generations: Zero,' which comes out in May.